Gaddafi Lives – in North Korea at least

Speculating on what’s happening north of the border is a favourite South Korean occupation and the best story from my recent visit was that Gaddafi still lives. At least in North Korea.

Earlier this year Air Koryo, the North Korean flag carrier, started a weekly Pyongyang-Kuwait service to cater for the many North Koreans working in the Middle East and North Africa, including Libya. At the beginning of the month the service was abruptly cancelled.

◄ Gaddafi propaganda billboard

Kim Jong-il propaganda billboard ►

Reportedly North Koreans who have been working in Libya have been banned from returning home. The travel ban and the flight cancellation are both intended to stop news of the Arab Spring and, even worse, Gaddafi’s death from reaching the country. Clearly the authorities don’t want anyone to think that Kim Jong-il could suffer the same fate as Romania’s Ceausescu (hastily dragged in front of a firing squad after a brief trial) or Gaddafi (hauled out of a drain and shot).